I am being asked to pay back rent after I verbally terminated my lease and received my deposit
Full Question:
I signed a lease for a year. With three months to go on that lease, I wanted to move out. One of my roommates had a friend take over the lease. The landlord and other tenants gave me the verbal 'ok' to move out so that the new tenant could move in. The landlord even gave me my deposit back. As it turns out the new tenant can't pay and after two months the landlord is asking me to pay past due rent because the new tenant never returned the signed lease and his checks bounced. Does the verbal contract to terminate my lease hold up and am I still
liable? I have email documentation to support the verbal contract as well.
04/28/2009 |
Category: Landlord Ten... ยป Lease Termin... |
State: ALL |
#16298
Answer:
It will be a matter of interpretation for the court, based upon the evidence presented and the facts and circumstances involved, to decide whether the landlord agreed to early termination of the lease and the lease was assumed by the new tenant. It is possible the landlord may claim that you were relieved of liability for the remaining rent as long as the new tenant didn't default.
If the court finds that a landlord waived the right to collect damages for early termination of the lease and there was an assignment of the lease to another tenant, the previous tenant typically will not be held liable for the remaining rent on the original lease.